By Your Love

Avanti devotional for team day - “By your love” with Evangelist Peter Ruck

Let us begin by talking to our Father; we know he is listening to us. We all want to tell him our much we love Him. We want begin by thanking Him for sending in precious son Jesus our Lord and Saviour, our healer, our deliver, our provider. We want thank you for sending Jesus to take our sin into His own body and washing us clean with his cleansing blood.  We are so grateful for the love and grace to us every day of our lives. We praise and honour you heavenly Father we glorify your Holy name. Father we thank you for your amazing love.

WE are created in God’s image to share His life, love, plan and purpose and you are therefore you are valuable to Him! 

Eph. 2:10 says ….For you/we are God’s workmanship.  

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!” Philippians 2:5-8 NIV

With the Zambia mission in my mind and in our prayers.

Paul was a great example I have been particularly led to “Philemon” his last prison epistle. “A prisoner of Jesus Christ” a phrase found nowhere else. His witness for Christ made him a prisoner. His dearly beloved and fellow labourer tells all we know about Philemon: he was dear to Paul, who considered him a valued co-worker in ministry. Paul is known for giving “thanksgiving and love in his prayers.

Philemon's Love and Faith  Philemon -v 4-7 (King James version). 

4  I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers,
5  hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints;
6  that the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
7  For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.

Love one another.

Is there any instruction given more in our Bibles than this one? Jesus Himself spoke the words many times during His ministry and the rest of the New Testament quotes it again and again - love one another. 

Please note that this is not an option, a take-it-or-leave-it situation. It is not a suggestion or simply some good advice. No. Jesus clearly states, "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another." We can't miss it. We can't ignore it. Jesus commands us to love one another.

But, in reality, should He really have to command us to love others? The overflow of our hearts, as a result of His love towards us, should be to love others. We didn't deserve His love. We didn't earn it. He didn't owe it to us. No. He sent His Son out of love.

John 3:16 New International Version (NIV)

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

How then, can we not love others? 
But Jesus also tells us another reason to love one another. 

John 13:35 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

35 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Show love to others, Jesus said, and everyone will know that you are mine. How will they know?  By our love. They won't know it because of certain habits and customs we do. They won't know it by the church we go to and how many times a week we attend. They won't know it by the way we dress or the things we say. Read it again. "By your love, all men shall know that you are my disciples."

John 13:34-35


A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

1 John 4:10-12
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

In other words, you want people to know about your God? So love them have compassion for them. We are the ambassador the character they see the messenger.  It really struck me one day that, No man hath seen God at any time. I have never forgotten this

It was not the statement itself that stopped me but, instead, its location in Scripture. Why, in the middle of writing about the love of God and our need to love others, did John write, "No man hath seen God at any time"? It almost seems out of place, just “right in the middle” of his thoughts. But, since Scripture is to be read and understood in context, loving one another and the fact that no one has seen God must go together. Could it not be similar to the words of Jesus that we've already considered? If no one has ever seen God, how are they going to know Him? By our love. Show them love and show them God. Only a few verses later John penned, "God is love”

1 John 4:16 
God is love


It has been said, "You may be the only Jesus people ever see".

Since no one has ever seen God, we, the ones saved by His grace and boundless love, are to love others. It is in this way that we show God to them. As you read the following lyrics to the song below, may the desire of your heart and mine be to love others as He has loved us and in so doing reveal God to all those around us.

You're The Only Jesus -sung by The Imperials

If not in you, I wonder where
will they ever see the One who really cares?
If not from you, how will they find
There's One who heals the broken heart, and gives sight to the blind?

Chorus:
You're the only Jesus that some will ever see
And you're the only words of life, some will ever read
So let them see in you the One in whom is all they'll ever need
'Cause you're the only Jesus, some will ever see

Verse:
And if not you, I wonder who,
will show them love, and love alone can make things new?
If not from you, how will they learn
There's one who'll trade their hopelessness and give joy in return?

Chorus:
You're the only Jesus that some will ever see
And you're the only words of life, some will ever read
So let them see in you the One in whom is all they'll ever need
'Cause you're the only Jesus, some will ever see

Written by Zonya Bergsma
 Reach Hearts Ministries

In His grace, love and service

Peter (peterruck@avantiministries.com, avantiministries.com)